The Paleo Diet for Athletes: A Nutritional Formula for Peak Athletic Performance

by Loren Cordain, Joe Friel

Loren Cordain, Ph.D., follows his success of The Paleo Diet with the first book ever to detail the exercise-enhancing effects of a diet similar to that of our Stone Age ancestors. When The Paleo Diet was published, advocating a return to the diet of our ancestors (high protein, plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables), the book received brilliant reviews from the medical and nutritional communities. Jennie Brand-Miller, coauthor of the bestselling Glucose Revolution, called it "without a doubt the most nutritious diet on the planet." Doctors Michael and Mary Dan Eades, authors of Protein Power, said, "We can't recommend The Paleo Diet highly enough." Now Dr. Cordain joins with USA triathlon and cycling elite coach Joe Friel to adapt the Paleo Diet to the needs of athletes. The authors
o Why the typical athletic diet (top-heavy with grains, starches, and refined sugars) is detrimental to recovery, performance, and health
o How the glycemic load and acid-base balance impact performance
o Why consumption of starches and simple sugars is only beneficial in the immediate post-exercise period At every level of competition, The Paleo Diet for Athletes can maximize performance in a range of endurance sports.

Genres: Health, Fitness, Nutrition, Nonfiction, Food, Sports, Self Help

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Loren Cordain, PhD, is one of the world's leading experts and researchers in the area of evolutionary medicine. He is on the faculty of Colorado State University and the author of The Paleo Diet and The Paleo Diet for Athletes. He has been featured on Dateline NBC, in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and other media."

Reviews

[Karen Storey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm surprised that this book hasn't received better reviews but then I've never been a big dieter, so I can't compare this to anything else. I read it last summer after having a pretty rough sprint triathlon (I had no energy) & started looking for better pre-race eating tips. I put the plan into action & have seen results. First let me clarify that I am an athletic person, not an athlete! :) My race times have gotten better, I feel stronger, & my recovery time has definitely improved. My hubby has lost 10 lbs since we've changed our eating habits (from cutting back on beer, bread, pasta, rice & other processed foods). As many reviewers say, there is a lot of scientific info & calculations in this book but I liked this & didn't get bogged down in it like some others did. I liked how the authors addressed the fuel issues for different exercise segments...30 min, 1 hr., 1.5 hrs., and so on -- this can be utilized by many levels of athletes (or athletic peeps like me). Understanding WHY you should & shouldn't eat certain things is a great motivator & the authors did a great job of explaining this. If you truly want to learn the dynamics among food, exercise & the human body, then this is the book to read. I have already started reading it a second time to reinforce what I've learned.

[Buck Wilde · Rating 1 out of 5]

Maybe I'm in the wrong here but I always thought of an athlete as someone physically strong, capable of a multitude of movements, who could kill an unsexy Frazetta monster with medieval weapon if the situation required it. Cordain seems to define it as somebody who runs for a long time.

The pros: I get to eat as much fruit as I want whenever I want. And I will. You think I won't crush seven apples back to back? I am as close to a horse as one can be while still having fingers.

The cons: Potatoes are now illegal. I have to obsessively quantify which stage of recovery I'm in at any given time, and I have to sneak yams in during Phase IV and Phase IV alone or risk being, God forbid, suboptimal. Vinegar is illegal because it was bottled next to where yeast lived in 1985. Dried fruit is punishable by public flogging.

None of these recommendations apply to the kind of athlete who plays sports, throws shotput, does martial arts, or lifts anything, weights or women or his fellow kings' spirits. It's just for distance runners. And that's fine, I'm sure there are a lot of paleo distance runners brought into the fold by Joe Rogan and wearing absolutely ridiculous footwear. Call the book "Paleo Diet for Distance Runners" so beefy caveboys who can squat their bodyweight don't waste their limited synaptic function trying to figure out why they should give a shit about mid-race carboloading with paleo-friendly gel packets.

[Azhan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I heard about the Paleo diet before but this book specifically mentioned 'A Nutritional Formula for Peak Athletic Performance' Since I train 4-5 times a week I was curious about the possibility of applying some paleo principles to my training and diet.

As the title suggests, this book focuses specifically on athletes, ENDURANCE athletes to be precise. There's topics about preparing for races, what happens to your body during endurance training etc. There's very little that non-endurance athletes can take from this book. The authors should know that endurance runners aren't the only kind of athletes there are.

There's a lot of information presented in this book. Sometimes it can be overwhelming. For example, I don't need half a page describing the structure of monounsaturated fatty acid molecule. On the other hand, a lot of data are presented in simple easy-to-read graphs and charts

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this up for two reasons. Firstly, wanted eating advice for athletes -I have an athlete in the family and recently joined a local CrossFit. Secondly, wanted to know what the Paleo hype is all about.

Good: Layperson reading ease, finished the book within a few days of casual reading. Advice on reducing/eliminating processed food is inline with credible nutrition and health books. Fueling and refueling the body based on physical activity appears consistent with multiple credible sources.

Points of interest: Increased protein helps reduce fat percentage due to satiation allowing for lower calorie intake.

Not-as-good: Part of healthy living is sustainability, personal and global. By eliminating grain, dairy, legumes, and alcohol, variety is limited and grocery expenses increase dramatically. Side note: wether Vegan or Caveman, a lot of care must be given to insure proper nutrition due to entire food groups being eliminated. Globally, the planet cannot sustain large populations consuming mass amounts of meat.

Side Note: Humans, as well as other primates, did not stop evolving ten thousand years ago. Evidence of this is lactose and gluten tolerance in much of the population. As for paleolithic eating, insects may have played a significant role in protein consumption.

Summary: As far as fads and diets go, Paleo has some merits. My personal preference is the 80/20 rule toted by Eat to Perform, as well as other athletic sites. 80% whole food, junk free eating with 20% eat for joy, have a cookie or some pasta once in awhile eating.

[Christie Bane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating a book like this is not like rating a novel. I mean, page-turner it was not. Was it readable? Yeah. Was the science good? Seemed to be, but it's not like I really investigated all the sources or have the understanding of diet and nutrition to read the studies critically and intelligently. Moreover, I don't really care. In fact, I am not really sure why I picked up this book to begin with other than that I had a vague, New-Years-Resolution sort of desire to find a healthier diet.

Well, it ain't gonna be this one. Basically the Paleo diet = lots of animal protein plus lots of fresh fruits and vegetables plus minimal processed food of any kind including all the refined carb-heavy foods that make eating a pleasure. Now, I'm not saying they're WRONG. The studies they discussed appeared to be well-supported and replicable. Maybe following this diet WOULD make me a better athlete. The thing is, who cares? Not me! I don't care if I set any new records and I don't particularly even care if I live a long life. I do want to enjoy that life while I have it, though, and nothing makes life as enjoyable to me as eating some nice, yummy, processed carbs. Like this giant bowl of Cheerios I'm about to have at midnight -- yum, yum.

I don't mean to knock this book. I think it's well done. I could just care less about the subject matter.

[Marlene M Penner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Starting off the year, I was enthusiastic about trying to eat the Paleo way. Well, I was fooling myself into thinking that this was going to last. One, I hate to cook/prepare food/bake. The only thing I do like about food is eating it. I do cook....all the time...for the people I love because I love them. If there is a meal sign-up, most likely you'll see my name on the list because there is a need and I love them. Meal planning, meal preparation, all that...it takes a lot of my energy and it's just okay food. It's definitely not therapy for me. I won't be winning any best cook awards though and I'm okay with that. But, to cook for myself one way and for everyone else another way just isn't working very well. So, I've resorted to eating more vegetables, eating a lot less grains (including pasta, rice, practically any carbs), eating less dairy and getting more meat. Of course, I have a hard time staying away from refined sugar so I'm using the excuse that my body needs it because I'm officially in training. I don't know what my excuse will be starting in May. Ah, there will always be an excuse available.

This book has taught me a lot. It all mostly makes sense to me. I wish I could be more diciplined with food but I try and fall short most days. I'm okay with that. There are more things in life to focus on, to think about these days.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmmmm..... Interesting, but perhaps a bit over-informative. Not sure who's really going to bust out all those math calculations every time they're hungry or thirsty, or think they should be thirsty. And a ton of calories in this book. I don't think a 600+ cal recovery drink is needed after a 90 minute workout, no matter how tough it is. This book rolls in at roughly 3000 cals a day, which is A LOT, unless you're seriously busting your butt.


That being said, the nutrition advice is sound, if not a little convoluted in the way they present it. This book leans a little heavier toward the carbs than the standard Paleo Diet book, but in the form of fruits/veggies. Grains and dairy are still a no-no, which I still can't get my head around.

To me, the Paleo Diet sounds like it should be a good idea, but I can't get with excluding whole food groups, that still seems odd to me.


I think the take home from any diet book is that a diet is the way you eat on a daily basis, NOT the food you eat until you lose a few pounds, and eat real food, not crap that comes in a box with ingredient you can't pronounce.

[Laura Broder · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book as I started my journey eating Paleo. Luckily, I'd already had a pretty lively introduction, thanks to my boyfriend eating Paleo, listening to the Paleolithic Solution podcasts, and some general Googling.

This book is written backwards: it starts will all the scientific mumbo-jumbo and ends with what the heck you should be eating. It's hard to follow at times, and definitely aimed at elite level endurance athletes. I have enough grounding in basic Paleo and nutrition that I was able to read this book with a salt shaker (well, not really, for Paleo's sake). If someone was coming to this book with no knowledge of Paleo/Primal eating, portion sizes, glycemic loads, or other basic rules of eating healthy, they would be utterly lost and discouraged from the lifestyle.

I recommend people read The Paleo Diet first, eat Paleo for a while, and then if they want to see performance gains, give this book a skim through. There are some good suggestions for pre- and post-workout eating, but you have to dig through a lot of dense material to find it.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're an endurance athlete, read this, put it into practice, and stop stuffing yourself with grains and "energy" bars.

[Meg · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pretty much only talks about the needs of endurance athletes. Also the paleo-fu is strong(surprise), I don't need your stone-age diet crap to know veggies are important in my diet.

[Chiachi · Rating 3 out of 5]

參考價值高但有點難不太容易懂，適合很有興趣的人再看

The focus of this book is to provide proper dietary advice before, during, and after riding, and it is more carefully subdivided into different types of riding for hours or even days. It is a very good reference book, but the way of writing is very difficult Only enthusiasts or experts in the field of nutrition can understand it better.

For amateur sports enthusiasts like me, just focus on the proper diet advice before riding, at the moment of riding, and after riding in the book.

The citations in this book all contain descriptions of related literature, so it can be said that it is a book with a high degree of credibility.

[Adi · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a good extension and supplementing of The Paleo Diet Revised: Lose Weight and Get Healthy by Eating the Foods You Were Designed to Eat not only for athletes. Information, knowledge are condensed and meritorical so it's good book for all athletes even if they have different diet. I recommend it for all no matter if you are beginner or advanced athletes.

[Felipe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genial. Cambié mis hábitos alimenticios y de entrenamiento acorde a este libro. No me he resfriado, ni he tenido alguna enfermedad cotidiana en 4 años, cero. No creo que haya sido suerte ni coincidencia.

[JamieDen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the concept and the plan. It’s just really long-winded about the science behind it. I’m sure plenty of people really appreciate that, and I do, in general, but I did a fair amount of skimming to get to the “meat” of the program (excuse the pun).

[Pedro Chaves · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must for endurance runners.

Addresses the questions about food that every endurance runner has: what to eat when, both during the race as well as during training.
A must and helpful read.

[Tim Pilon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best guide I came across so far for an endurance athlete.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely geared more towards endurance and high performance athletes but was helpful in adjusting some post-workout meals for a recreational athlete like myself.

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting read with information as well as helpful recipes.

[Axel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Straight forward read with a lot of research references. Recipes in back.

[Kim Cottrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, but didn't actually do the Paleo Diet.

[Mjameson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was amazing. Truly well-researched and informed. I liked the way the book blended the knowledge of an athlete paired with up-to date nutritional knowledge.

I don't think there is any evidence against this diet. The knowledge of fats, especially the omega-3's, is too new to have much against it. I appreciated how he was aware of FDA recommendations and sometimes agreed and sometimes disagreed. For instance, he agreed that saturated fat should be less than 10% of daily diet, but disagreed about the amount of dairy that was necessary and about the amount of carbohydrate.

It did seem like the paleo way of eating broke down after intensive bouts of excercise such as the tour de france. In those cases carbs, fats and everything to restore energy seemed truly necessary. It amazed me how the book supported my intuition that the way one needs to eat when excercising intensely is totally different than the way one would eat when not excercising intensely. It must have something to do with how your body processes carbohydrate depending on your glycogen stores.

Basically, in general, cordain advocates eating a diet high in protein with unlimitted fruits and veggetables. Nuts are OK as an additional snack, but peanuts are legumes not a nut. I was impressed with this method of eating because it has been the only breakfast that did not leave me hungry for hours. As mentioned before, I was also impressed with how he blended agreement and disagreement with the FDA and his incorporation of the now widely accepted research on omega-3s. I would recommend this book as recommended reading to anyone who is not fully satisfied with the new FDA food pyramid. Even if the diet does not work for you, Cordain's insights and way of explaining things can provide ideas for adding variety to your diet and can help you understand how it is easier to eat the now 9 FDA daily recommended servings of fruits and veggetables. You can't do it by counting up to nine, you have to think "fruits and veggetables are unlimitted" and prefer fruits and veggies to carbs on most occasions.

I was also impressed with Cordains knowledge of osteoporosis and his explanation of how eating fruits and veggetables by creating a net base environment could prevent the body from usinig bone calcium as a buffer to balance PH of the body. All in all this book was wonderful, even though I would recommend reading the paleo diet first. Although, I do fear that this diet is the worst diet for the environment ever (something Cordain never mentions), it has been the first diet that substantially helped my concentration and has improved the health of my skin and level of dehydration. I still have many modifications to make before I am able to fully do it and get enough calories and am still concerned with its impact on the environment. However, all in all, I would say this is one of the best, most balanced, most informed books on dieting that I have ever read and would recommend it to aspiring athletes or anyone who has trouble or wants another perspective on the FDA food pyramid or to better understand current research on healthful eating.

[Aaron Maurer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book came across as a surprise in many ways. For one I forgot I put this book on hold. I had placed it on hold months ago and really forgot all about it. Just the other day it was available in the library and being that I just started my training for my first marathon I started to read the book and actually came away with some great information.

I am not sure if I could actually follow the Paleo Diet completely as I am not sure I could give up dairy or grain as these two food groups are staples to my family and actually two of the food groups that my kids eat that are actually healthy. However, everything presented in the book makes complete sense.

The idea of being able to eat as much lean meat, poultry, seafood, fruits, and veggies is awesome. I just need to work on the dairy and grain piece.

What makes this diet work is that it is actually not a diet, but provides more of a template for how to nourish your body if you are an athlete properly. It covers some common myths/mistakes people make while training and eating. An important element to following this program/diet is that you must maintain adequate carb intake if you are an endurance athlete so your body does not break down. This is not something that is asking you cut calories or carbs, but rather putting good fuel in your body.

The key aspect to this book that I really enjoyed reading about and took pages of notes on was the 5 Stages to Eating During the Day. I found the 5 stages to make complete sense and they work no matter what time you train. For me, I train very early in the morning 4:30 am so many programs don't work for training this early.

The 5 Stages are
1. Immediately before workout
2. During the workout
3. 30 minutes following workout
4. Period equal to duration of preceding workout
5. Long-term recovery leading to Stage 1

This is nothing mind blowing, but seeing it in this format really helped me visualize how I keep my body fueled.

Like with any book that deals with diet/nutrition/training/etc. there are so many methods and plans. This book is a great benefit to read because it will provide you with some new ideas and techniques that maybe you have not thought about before. I have changed my system in terms of what I eat and when I eat and I am noticing some positive changes to my body and performance.

This book has caused me to rethink my nutrition and I am slowly trying to become more Paleo despite my love of cheese and yogurt!

After reading this book from the library I have purchased the book to keep with me. It is worth the money.

[Sal Coraccio · Rating 4 out of 5]

With a good understanding of a primarily fat and protein (very low carbohydrate) diet I was hoping a "Paleo" perspective would help with the demands of exercise. This book almost meets that need.

Unfortunately, this book prescribes more carbohydrates than I believe are needed. It was was released in 2005 and newer science has supplanted, for those willing to listen, that science with a better understanding of the energy-giving abilities of oils and fats. Dr. Perlmutter's book "Grain Brain" is a good overview for that.

Still, plenty of useful information here, particularly considerations around the timing of foods relative to exercise. And, in keeping with a Paleo diet, it avoids refined sugars and grains. In place of those, however, it allows sports drinks, gels and other lab-created concoctions. Also allows for fruits and vegetables of all kinds - some of them highly carbohydrate laden.

And I think it has a rational angle on what a Paleo diet is, and where it comes from, acknowledging that our ancestors ate many things. and they themselves weren't genetically identical. So, a true mirroring of their diets is nearly impossible in modern times. Bugs and brains... you gonna eat bugs and brains?

One more thing to take into consideration is the difference between an athlete and someone who desires simply to stay fit. Small and continual over-intakes of sugars will make little difference to the athlete (other than potential cognitive decline) - she's going to burn through all of that in rigorous and highly-monitored exercise regime. There's a big downside for the normal, if conscientious exercising, mere-mortal person. Disease, cognitive decline and weight gain chief among them - cycles of activity and sloth magnify those effects.

Anyway, a great reference book once it's been read through. I've already dug into it a few times. having to adjust his carb perspective based on my own understanding, but the principles are still true to a large extent.

[Jillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned a lot about nutrition and fitness from reading this book. In my opinion I already had a lot knowledge in these areas, but it turns out there is always way more to learn.

It delves into the metabolic processes that occur in your body when you exercise, and how the fuel you put in is used, and how the fuel that's already stored is used next, and finally what happens when there is no more fuel left (hint: badness). The Paleo diet is based off of lean meats, fruits, and veggies, but the athletic version of this diet allows the inclusion of certain carb-y things right before/during/after exercising. The science of this process is discussed in just the right amount of detail, I could understand everything but it wasn't too simple. I really liked the level of science-detail, there is even a bit of organic chemistry. Love it.

I'm not sure how much I buy the "our ancestors ate this so we're genetically programmed to do best with this diet" approach. Will I go Paleo? I doubt it. I can only eat so much fish, and while the idea of eating birds is not as repulsive as it has been for the past 15 years, it's still pretty repulsive. Personally, it's not a choice I can opt for right now. However, I have started reducing my grain (esp. bread) intake and may have noticed a difference in my body and performance. Maybe.

[Maria]

After many naturopathic consultations, food sensitivity testing, flirting with veganism, reading, net surfing and discussions with others focused on suitable diets I decided to look more deeply into the paleo diet. I like the way Dr. Cordain describes the findings of the scientific literature in layman's terms and outlines the broad principles of this way of eating. There is a lot of debate about whether this way of eating is possible for the entire planet. Probably not. There are also the numerous issues around eating animal flesh. Unfortunately given my sensitivities being a vegan is virtually impossible. Paleo is in line with my sensitivities so for me seems to be the right way forward. I've been following it relatively closely for the last 3 weeks and it suits me very well. I would recommend it to anyone interested in health generally, but I don't think there is a "one size fits all" when it comes to diet. You need to experiment, observe and monitor your own reactions to different foods. Paleo is not really a "diet", rather it's a framework for eating for the rest of your life. It makes a lot of sense.

[Darrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having just also read Scott Jurek's "Eat and Run" and Rich Roll's "Finding Ultra", both books touting the benefits of a vegan or plant powered diet, it is difficult for me to justify the re-introduction of meat back into my diet. Especially in light of the current production methods of readily available meat sources. All the books are in agreement on some basic tenets that make sense for anyone. The tenets are fresh is best, no limits on (most but not all) vegetables and fruits, elimination of refined sugar, dairy and limited alcohol consumption.

The first two parts of the book read very much like a textbook and I must admit that I skimmed much of it. For me the meat of the book (pun inadvertently intended) was in Part III. I doubt that I will be changing my eating habits drastically, but I can appreciate the science and thought that went into the development of the Paleo approach to fueling athletic performance.

[Elle · Rating 5 out of 5]

The 5 stars is for rating of a diet book - which is completely different than rating a fiction book. This was a well written book that gave me the information that I needed to understand how the Paleo Diet came about, why people believe it works and what you should eat and avoid. It also has a lot of recipes at the back which, although I won't use, gave me ideas. I really liked the generic ideas it gives you of how to order at various restaurants to stay on this diet. My favorite part is that this isn't really a 'diet'. Yes, you avoid sugars, wheat, dairy and primarily have vegetables, fruit and meats but, since you can have all you want, you are never hungry. I also like that this isn't fanatical or extreme and you can even take days off.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is fantastic for any level athlete. I've looked at Paleo diet before but wasn't sure how to incorporate it into my triathlon training. This book details exactly what you should eat and when for optimal performance. I look forward to leveraging this knowledge during this triathlon season.

There is a lot of detail and science behind why this lifestyle works for athletes as well as how to maintain body weight in the off season. Some may find the details distracting but I appreciate knowing what I'm doing and why.

This is the first truly Paleo book I've read and having found that I have a gluten sensitivity, this lifestyle makes sense to me.

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

These two authors are well qualified, and the info seems pretty good.
The interesting thing is that their findings are poping up elsewhere in the fitness and health fields, for example in the Crossfit programs, and the Younger Next Year book.
I've followed Cordain's work for some years (CSU was my school too) and haven't found any significant errors yet. It is a little extreme, perhaps (no grains or legumes), but it is worth reading and thinking about.
You won't like what they say about peanut butter.

[Chadfredlott · Rating 3 out of 5]

More performance diet reading. Packaging his dietary suggestions in a pre-agricultural and biologically appropriate myth has worked wonders for Cordain's sales. The diet works, especially if you are doing something like Crossfit. His original book, the Paleo Diet, is full of bad suggestions and interested parties should expand their knowledge of the subject through sites like the Performance Menu.

Cordain's work will ultimately make its way into what hack diet writers are suggesting on Oprah in a few years.